Buyers
Buyers often get caught up in an emotional roller cycle when seeking to purchase or move up to a bigger house. The excitement of change and the pride of ownership, along with other emotions mixed in, is enough to create a stressful thought; not to mention the finances, interest rates, title insurance, escrow details, purchase agreement, and disclosure after disclosure. But with the advent of the internet, and a highway of “free” information and resources, the consumer is more apt to venture on the home buying journey by him/herself without the help of a Realtor, at least for the first mile or so. Just after absorbing dozens of listings, and calling the listing agent on these listing and driving around several communities in search of a home suitable to their needs and desires, does it start to dawn in them that it might be prudent to work with a Realtor.
But that brings us to another dilemma, who, where and why? Yes who will we confide in and where will we find this Realtor and why should we work with him? With the internet full of sale agents and Realtors, where do we begin? And then, there is a Realtor in just about every family now days, an uncle, cousin or just a friend of a friend that someone mentioned to you. Sounds good, but if this was a legal or medical matter, I am sure that house hunting would be different. A good Realtor is not someone with experience all in its own. There has to be some level of ethics and integrity involved along with some level of caring to make house hunting the least stressful and most profitable to the client. Of course the experience and knowledge have to be there as well, that is given. And unless the buyer interviews Realtors, instead of hiring a friend of a friend, they normally are too deep in the process to bail out and start all over. My advice; interview at least three Realtors and look closer at their attitude towards you the buyer, rather then their accomplishments, or what they drive. A Mercedes does not translate to a successful Realtor, only to high car payments. With this said, I would much appreciate the opportunity to be one of these three!!
Sellers
And sellers, patience and depersonalization of your “home” and motivation for selling are key ingredients to maximizing the sale of your “house”. Motivation would come to play first. Why sell your house? Normally people sell their houses to buy a bigger house, or to cash out on some equity and down size to a smaller house. But patience is prudence to the timing of this process for a maximization of the sale. When is the right time? Are you monitoring the economy and the rates along with the neighbors for sale sign? If they can get that for their house, then I can get at least $15,000 more for mine, since it looks far nicer then theirs. Or are you simple introspectively looking at you families needs as the major reason for selling your house. Are you able to easily depersonalize “your home” so that a prospect can personalize it when they look at it? And when you do decide to sell, will you sell it For Sale by Owner or hire a Realtor? If you do chose a Realtor, will it be the Realtor that promised you the most and highest sale figure in your neighborhood, or the Realtor that brought the sales comparables and put it all on the table so you could make a careful and wise judgment. These and many more are the questions that the seller needs to ask him or herself first and foremost, before even contacting a Realtor. And again, a rule of thumb, interview at least three Realtor. By the way, not all licensees are Realtors.
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